CHANGINGEAR - NG Owners Club · Please send all contributions to ChangiNGear to the editor ......

the magazine of the NG owners club

CHANGINGEAR March 2010 (1)

Dobby’s Great Escape!

NGOC National Rally 2010 - details inside

THE NG OWNERS CLUB

Please send all contributions to ChangiNGear to the editor (Chris Humphreys) The NGOC web site: www.ngownersclub.org.uk is maintained by Mike Peel

President: Nick Green

Chairman .................... Peter Clark Haydn’s Wood, 1 Vicarage Close, Kingswood, Surrey. KT20 6QF (Tel: 01737 832367)

Secretary .................. Bob Preece 12 Oakland Walk, West Parley, Ferndown, Dorset. BH22 8PF (Tel: 01202 573644, e-mail: [email protected])

Membership Sec ..... Bob Morrison 11 Cox’s Road, Shrivenham, Oxon. SN6 8EL (Tel: 01793 783105, e-mail: [email protected])

Treasurer .................. Susan Stretch 6 Wroxham Road, Woodley, Reading, Berks. RG5 3AT (Tel: 01189 693355)

Magazine Editor ...... Chris Humphreys 185 Mutton Lane, Potters Bar, Herts. EN6 2AN (Tel: 01707 851320, e-mail: [email protected]) Local Area Contact Members Sheffield, Leeds, Yorkshire ....................... Dennis Roberts (01142 878515) Midlands ........................................................... Mark Staley (01332 723927) Ed Powell (01386 47374) East Anglia ...................................................... David Edwards (01284 788118) New Forest & District ................................. Keith Baker (01794 340490) South Wales .................................................... Brian North (02920 341671) Technical Contact Members (willing to help on technical matters) TA (Marina based) ......................................... John Brand (01382 532420) TC V8 (inc. conv. from 1800) ...................... Neil Taylor (01733 561492) TF (MGB 1800 based inc. SVA) ................. Chris Humphreys (01707 851320) SVA (technical & non-technical) ................ Mark Staley (01332 723927) General & technical queries ........................ John Hoyle (020 8393 2555) All contributions to this magazine only contain the personal opinions of the individual concerned. The Club accepts no responsibility for advice or information in this magazine or any other item of Club literature. Neither does any advertisement featured imply an endorsement or recommendation by the Club.

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ChangiNGear March 2010

National Rally 2010 2nd to 4th July

Make a note in your diaries!

Chairman’s Letter .......................................................................................... 2

Editorial ........................................................................................................... 2

Secretary’s Notes ......................................................................................... 4

Events Calendar 2010 ................................................................................... 6

Regular Meetings ........................................................................................... 8

Events Web Sites .......................................................................................... 9

NG Owners Club Account 2009 ................................................................. 10

Solutions to Christmas Puzzles .................................................................. 11

Stoneleigh Map .............................................................................................. 12

NGOC National Rally 2010 .......................................................................... 14

Members’ Letters & Articles ..................................................................... 18

New Members ............................................................................................... 24

Sales & Wants .............................................................................................. 25

Club Products, Regalia, & Literature ............................ inside back cover

Contents

Have you been anywhere or done anything in your NG? Why not send in a few words and/or pictures for ChangiNGear?

Next issue: Jun 2010 Deadline for submission of articles: 15th May

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Chairman’s Letter The FBHVC

really do need this kind of support . It demonstrates to the general publ ic that there is a need to know and appreciate the heritage of our old and classic cars as well as helping to keep the EU morons at bay. The day is also a good opportunity to have a gentle drive and blow away the winter cobwebs before getting down to the more serious events of the summer, i.e. The National Rally.

I have it on good authority that the coming summer will be a good one. - Trust me I am not a doctor.

Peter Clark.

W ith the festive season well and truly behind us now is the

time to seriously turn our minds to the coming season of NG motoring activities.

There is of course the usual list of mainstream events such as Kit Car/Custom Car days held at Detling, Stoneleigh, Popham, Newark-on-Trent and Knebworth etc.

Also worth considering are local village shows in particular the Shrivenham Village Fete.

Of importance, on the 25th of April it is the FBHVC (Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs) Drive–It Day. Since a large number of our NGs can qualify as being an Historic Vehicle either by registration or just by styling looks how about giving ‘Old Trusty‘ a polish up and get her out on the road.

Editorial

W ell, it’s finally happened! I have had to cut pages from

this issue of ChangiNGear due to lack of articles submitted by mem-bers. I mentioned last time how close I was but my plea appears to have fallen on deaf ears. So this issue is 28 pages rather than the usual 32. Interestingly, 40% of the articles submitted (almost all of which are published) over the last 5

years have come from just 3 members – I’ll leave you to work out who they are. I have also had no one express an in-terest in editing the magazine so please contact me if you think you could. Enough negative thoughts!

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much more space and we can get our 3 “normal” cars parked and still just leave room for Dobby to leave or enter the garage. This makes it much easier to take the NG out when I go to School if it is a reason-able day. Well, Dobby has been to School 3 times this week! Let’s hope the weather continues to improve as it has over this 1st week in March.

If you look at our events list on page 6 (or our calendar on the web-site) you will see a plethora of events to take part in this year. Un-fortunately I shall not be coming to the Detling show as we have booked to go on the Wye Valley Easter Tour with Continental Car Tours but I hope to see lots of you at the Stoneleigh National Kit Car Show.

My family and I are still hoping to move in the near future to a per-manent residence in Potters Bar. We’re just waiting for the right property to come on the market – easier said than done. So will I have moved by next issue? I honestly don’t know. Keep your eye on the website as any change of address will be reflected there.

The National Rally is, of course, a “must” and there must be no excuses for not coming! Please note that you should find an application form en-closed with this issue, so please complete it without delay and return it to Bob Morrison. I look forward to seeing you there.

Happy NGiNG! Chris Humphreys

It’s that time again to check you have paid your membership subscrip-tion. It is £12 (£10 by standing or-der – we can’t do direct debits) and it hasn’t gone up since 2003. Make sure your name or membership num-ber is used as a reference with S.O. payments. Also do check that Bob has your correct address as you will only receive your magazine if he has.

Last time I commented that we had moved and Dobby (my TF) was ensconced in the garage. Apart from an outing for good behaviour (or good weather) on 1st January, Dobby’s confinement continued until the Snowdrop Run organised by the Cambridge & District MGOC on 20th February. Poor Dobby thought he had been abandoned and I think, but I am not sure, that he had begun writing an account of his imprison-ment. If he has, and he is not too cross with me, I will include it next time – if there’s any space!

The Snowdrop Run was a lovely but cold day and started at Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire. After the inevitable bacon butty, cup o’ tea and group photo, we drove about 55 miles and ended up at Kathy Brown’s Winter Garden near Bedford, where we were presented with our own snowdrop in a pot. So occurred Dobby’s “Great Escape”!

Actually things have become a little better for Dobby now. My col-league (whose house I currently rent) decided to have the front gar-den surfaced so that we now have

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S pring is here at last, I have taken the TF off the axle

stands, which I use to stop the tyres flat spotting during the winter months, a problem I have had in the past, and taken it out for a shake down run, and shake it does. Why does a vehicle, which was running perfectly well when taken off the road, run so roughly after three months of non-movement? Better winter prep needed I suppose.

Enough of winter blues we must look forward to club get-togethers through the year. Our main meeting is the National Rally in July. Everything is in place for another glorious weekend at Stratford with a large marquee ordered for a live band and barn dance. This is a great venue with lots of space for camping and this year we hope to run a gentle driving test, i.e. no grass ripping starts, handbrake turns and four wheel slides. Put the date into your diary 2/3/4th July.

Forthcoming Events

April 4/5th European Kit-Car Show Kent County Showground, Detling, Kent ME14 3JF This is the show I used to go to when I lived in Surrey but it is a terrible drive from where I am now, so I have not been in attendance for

4 years, but from what I remember it is worth a visit.

May 2/3rd National Kit-Car Show National Agricultural Show Ground, Stoneleigh, Warks CV8 2LZ See www.grosvenorexhibitions.co.uk for more info.

This is the main show of the year and Amanda and I will be there on the Sunday 2nd. We are sorry we didn`t make it last year but I had a health problem which stopped me attending. We shall be there with the tent for tea, coffee and biscuits.

When you arrive at the Kit-Car entrance go through the gate and take the 1st road to the right (2nd Street) then take the 3rd road left (Avenue H) and we are situated on plot 40A on your right. Good luck with these directions as I always get it wrong when I`m there.

May 3rd Aero Autojumble & Classic Vehicle Rally & Fly-in Popham Airfield, Coxford Down, Winchester SO21 3BD See www.popham-airfield.co.uk for more info.

This is a great show for cars M/

Secretary’s Notes

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2010 Membership Renewals Please note that subscriptions were due on January 1st. Please check that you have paid £12 (or £10 standing order). Note: we are not able to take direct debit. Cheques, details and queries to: Bob Morrison (Membership Secretary) 11 Cox’s Road, Shrivenham, Oxon SN6 8EL Tel: 01793 783105 E-mail: [email protected]

bikes & aircraft. You do need tickets to get in though as there is limited space, so first come first served. Write to the address below, not to the airfield itself:

Mr Steve Hallam 4 Church View

Hook Hampshire RG27 9HN

State the details of your car and enclose a stamped addressed envelope for the tickets and pass. NB: No SAE, NO ENTRY.

June 19/20th National Kit-Car Festival Newark & Notts Showground, Newark on Trent NG24 2NY I am just mentioning this show as there will be no club presence this year as we had a bad report on it last year. If you do go let us know how you found it for future reference.

June 26/27th Wings, Wheels & Steam County Fayre Rougham Airfield, Nr Bury St Edmunds IP30 9ND Info Only.

July 2/3/4th NGOC National Rally Riverside Caravan Park, Tiddington Road, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 7AB

Our club meeting of the year. There is a lot of information on this event in this edition of the magazine, and we look forward to welcoming you over the weekend.

July 2/3/4th Festival of Speed Goodwood, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0PX Information only, because you will all be at the National Rally!!

Bob Preece

Further information about the

NGOC National Rally can be found on pages 14 & 15

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Events Calendar 2009/2010 Date Event Contact

4-5 Apr European Kit Car & Builder Show Kent County Showground, Detling, Kent ME14 3JF

Chris Humphreys

2-3 May National Kit Car Show National Agricultural Showground, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire CV8 2LZ

Bob Preece

3 May Aero/Autojumble & Classic Vehicle Rally & Fly-in Popham Airfield, Coxford Down, Winchester SO21 3BD

Keith Baker

6 Jun London ~ Brighton Kit & Sports Car Run Start: Mercedes-Benz Museum, Brooklands KT13 0SL

Dave Holland

12 Jun Classic & Sportscar Action Day Castle Combe, Wiltshire SN14 7EY

Info only

19-20 Jun National Kit Car Festival Newark & Notts Showground, Newark-on-Trent, Notts. NG24 2NY

Dennis Roberts

26-27 Jun Wings, Wheels & Steam Country Fayre Rougham Airfield, Nr. Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP30 9ND

Info only

9 May Thames Valley Classic & Sports Car Day Hambleden Village, Henley-on-Thames, Bucks RG9 6RP

Jeff Stretch

27 Jun Goodwood Breakfast Club - Soft Top Sunday Goodwood, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0PX

Paul Gray

2-4 Jul NGOC NATIONAL RALLY Riverside Caravan Park, Tiddington Road, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 7AB

Bob Preece

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Date Event Contact

2-4 Jul Festival of Speed Goodwood, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0PX

Info only

14-15 Aug Heart Air Display & Classic Car Show (inc. Sports Car Day on Sunday) Rougham Airfield, Nr. Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP30 9ND

Info only

28 Aug Shrivenham Village Fete Shrivenham, Oxon

Bob Morrison

29-30 Aug Knebworth Classic Motor Show Knebworth Park, Stevenage, Herts SG1 2AX

Chris Humphreys

11-12 Sep Beaulieu International Autojumble Beaulieu Event Fields (National Motor Museum), Hampshire SO42 7ZN

Info only

17-19 Sep Revival Meeting Goodwood, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0PX

Info only

7 Nov London ~ Brighton Veteran Car Run Start: Hyde Park

Info only

28 Jul Classics on the Common Harpenden Common, Harpenden, Herts opp. AL5 2JF

Chris Humphreys

7-8 Aug Vintage Hill Climb Prescott Estate, Prescott, Cheltenham, Glos GL52 9RD

Paul Gray

11-18 Sep NG Holiday in Brittany Paul Gray

23-24 Oct Great Western Kit Car Show Westpoint Exhibition Centre, Exeter, Devon EX5 1DJ

Bob Preece

18-19 Sep Stafford Kit Car Show Staffordshire County Showground, Weston Road, Stafford ST18 0BD

Info only

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Aug 10 Most Compelling Photograph competition

Sep 14 Supper Night (Bangers & Mash) with Pianist

Oct 12 Motoring Quiz Nov 9 Early Museum Tour Dec 14 Enthusiast of the Year

Awards

The Brooklands Club ~ Monthly Natter Meeting Dates 2010

Regular NG Meetings Sheffield, Leeds, Yorks area: various meets & activities (Dennis Roberts 01142 878515 - Phone for details) Midlands - Monthly evening meet: every 1st Tuesday, 7.00pm The Boot Inn, Repton, nr Burton on Trent, Staffs (Mark Staley 01332 723927 – Venue adjustable, phone for details) Oxford - Monthly lunch-time meet: date depends on interest, 12 noon The Six Bells, Warborough, off A423 Oxford/Wallingford (Bob Morrison 01793 783105) East Anglia area: various meets & activities (David Edwards 01284 788118 - Phone for details) Surrey - Monthly evening meet: every 2nd Tuesday, 7.30pm The Club Room, Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey (Peter Clark 01737 832367 - See also “Monthly Natter” panel) Kent - Monthly lunch-time meet: every 2nd Sunday, 12.30pm (John Jewsbury 01622 890992 - Phone for current venue) New Forest - Monthly lunch-time meet: every 1st Sunday, 12 noon (Keith Baker 01794 340490 - Phone for current venue) Cardiff (Sth. Wales) meet: by arrangement (Brian North 02920 341671 - Brian also does engine reconditioning)

Mar 9 Hunt the Clues—a simple competition

Apr 13 Easter Natter May 11 Ladies’ Spring Hat

competition Jun 8 Pride of Ownership & Jazz

Evening Jul 13 Summer BBQ (pre booking)

with music

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Events Web Sites

These web sites are listed to provide a source of additional information for the events listed in our Events Calendar.

Web Sites for Venues Beaulieu Motor Museum www.beaulieu.co.uk Brooklands Museum www.brooklandsmuseum.com Castle Combe Circuit www.castlecombecircuit.co.uk Goodwood www.goodwood.co.uk Harpenden Common www.classicsonthecommon.com Heyford Leys Camping Park www.heyfordleyspark.co.uk Kent County Showground www.kentshowground.co.uk Knebworth House www.knebworthhouse.com Mercedes-Benz World www.mercedes-benzworld.co.uk Newark & Notts Showground www.newarkshowground.com Popham Airfield www.popham-airfield.co.uk Riverside Caravan Park www.stratfordcaravans.co.uk Rougham Airfield www.roughamairfield.org Shrivenham www.shrivenham.org

Stoneleigh Park www.nac-stoneleigh-park.co.uk Westpoint Arena, Exeter www.westpoint-devonshow.co.uk Other Web Sites Autosport Int. (Racing Car Show) www.autosport-international.com Greenwoods Exhibitions (L2B etc.) www.greenwoodsexhibitions.com Grosvenor Exhibitions (Stoneleigh) www.grosvenorexhibitions.co.uk Hampshire Pageant of Motoring www.hpom.co.uk Jaguar Enthusiasts Club www.jag.org.uk Kit Car Shows (Detling & Exeter) www.kitcar-shows.co.uk London~Brighton Veteran Car Run www.lbvcr.com Newark Promotions www.kitcarshow.co.uk West Midlands MG Owners Club www.mgocwestmids.co.uk

Staffordshire County Showground www.staffscountyshowground.co.uk

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NG Owners Club Accounts 2009 Bank Balance as at 31.12.2008 £2,710.91

Income 2009 Expenditure 2009

Subscriptions 2974.50 Stationery 86.99

Club Sales 982.50 Printing 1696.99

Advertising - C.G. 245.00 Postage 631.97

Club Equipment -

Club Regalia 800.75

Trophies, prizes - and tributes

20.75

Event Expenses 1388.77

P.L. Insurance 150.00

Admin. Expenses 14.13

Web Site 25.31

£4,202.00 £4,815.66

Bank Balance as at 31.12.2009 £2,097.25

£6,912.91 £6,912.91

Another successful year. As usual the printing and posting of the club magazine/membership list is our main ex-pense together with expenses for the National Rally. The 30th anniversary National Rally at Upper Heyford was voted a big success by all who attended and worth every penny! We are planning this year's National Rally (2nd/3rd/4th July) along similar lines with a barn dance on the Saturday evening, so please make a big effort to attend. Details elsewhere in the magazine. Mark Staley has done a sterling job with ordering and selling club regalia and has stock in hand. Please contact Mark if you require any items. Details inside back cover of the magazine. Any account queries please contact me. Susan Stretch Treasurer

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Solutions to Christmas Puzzles T T F R P I M E F N A S M N S N T H A I D M I E R

S D G A I R E I A I S G T E N C S U O I E E P E R

I O O D T L S G S E G M N D I H K E R R E C I E E

N E N N B C N A R T N G N A E R A G R K R N I M G

F D O U K E M T G R L E Y P S I H O I A E N C N E

E U A N E E I E I A S E H P E E S N C L D Y D L O

T B N C N W Y P W K T E T F U E O K O E G T A W R

S G I N S T I S S R R S D O N D E C E M D S I G L

R E R T O I I U E D N M A A E R D R I E G U B S W

O S B O N R O S R L A O M N K K R I L S P R E I A

D S N L T U S R L T D W E S T E M I N C L G Y I R

E D L A L L S E I E O N N E T A R N A G S E A C I

R E R N B C W C I N G O A T D M C I N G P O I A S

N M S P D E O E S F I S S C I G P L T L H Y R G H

G K O L S N I S A T L T R N T O M T A N T A E A H

I A Y T Y N R M A A H O C C O A I C R U I N E E C

Y G E T B N C R A G G E E E N N M S I E S R R N N

T E A E S K O N I E P A M G S S O C A A T O G D Y

E I R Y Y C T L I I I I E E G I B E Y H O N A I N

O C R A E C Y S E M M R L E A P A E C N I T U E S

D E I D N R I N E O A I O L N S R E H K R D N L H

U E I M I D K D T L U U C D U O S C C S E C O E M

F E S A H K B N N M S M M S E R E O R D O R S I I

G R F T P E A T T L A T I N R E T P N F A I C U D

S N D M A P K R D M I O D I C S L N S C P K O T P

Santa’s Bridge Puzzle: Chickles & Chockles take Rudolf over (2 mins) Chickles returns with Rudolf (1 min)* Chuckles & Santa take Rudolf over over (10 mins) Chockles returns with Rudolf (2 mins)* Chickles & Chockles take Rudolf back over (2 mins) Total 17 mins *A second solution is possible by swapping Chickles and Chockles.

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Stoneleigh Map (2-3 May 2009) Directions: Go straight from the gate entrance, take 1st right (2nd Street) then 3rd left (Avenue H). Our site is on the right on the next corner (intersection of Avenue H and 4th Street—40A same site as last year).

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Thames Valley Classic and Sports Car Day

Sunday 9th May 2010

(Hambleden Village, Henley-on-Thames, Bucks RG9 6RP)

Last year a number of NGs went to the Thames Valley Classic and Sports Car Day organised by the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club. The weather was beautiful and there was a great selection of interesting cars and a number of clubs. Hambleden is frequently used in film locations as little has changed since the early 1900s and the surrounding Chilterns countryside is simply superb. Last year we had something of a club presence so it would be nice if we could have a repeat this year. Note there is a pub but it gets extremely crowded so if you do intend going it would be as well to take a picnic. This year’s event is on Sunday 9th May from 11am. Hambleden is situ-ated approx. 1 mile north off the A4155 more or less midway between Henley-on-Thames and Marlow.

Jeff Stretch (0118 969 3355)

NG Holiday in Brittany

11th - 18th September 2010

Sorry, but this is now fully booked

Paul Gray

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Riverside Caravan Park, Tiddington Road, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 7AB • Rally field situated on the banks of the River Avon. • Battery-powered water-taxis to the centre of Stratford (~£1.50). • Pleasant riverside walks. • Stratford offers lots of historical interest and Shakespeare attractions • Suggested routes provided to explore some delightful NG-friendly roads in

the surrounding area. • On-site café with a special price of £0.99 for breakfast that has just got

to be tried! • Large lit marquee with tables and chairs, a water boiler for a copious sup-

ply of hot drinks and large gas barbecues to cook you own food. How about bringing a cake to share?

• A selection of children's games - more details later. What’s going on? • Members will be able to arrive

from Friday afternoon at which time the marquee will also be erected.

• Free cheese & wine reception on Friday evening. Members need only bring cutlery, plates, glasses & cups.

• Driving “tests” - these will be tests of skill, not races but should be fun! This will be the first time that the club has run such an event for several years. Two opportunities to participate - Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

• A BBQ will be held on Saturday evening - members bring their own meat, drinks, etc and the club will provide salad, French bread and a fruit salad.

• A Barn Dance will be held on Saturday evening. The group is called 'Catswhiskers' and consists of 2 musicians and a caller. You can look them up on their website - http://www.catswhiskersband.fsnet.co.uk. There will be a mid-evening refreshment break for those children (& adults) who aren't allowed to stay up too late!

• Traditional concours & prize-giving on Sunday.

NGOC National Rally

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Costs • To help the club with the costs for the event (marquee, food, barn dance,

etc) it has been decided that a small fee will be payable as follows: Fee for one day £5 per family unit. Fee for whole weekend (3 days) £10 per family unit. Fees can be paid in advance or will be collected at the welcome tent on arrival.

• Camping fees will be £15 per pitch per night. There will be no extra fee for a family bringing a further small tent for children under 16. This fee includes use of site loos and showers. The club will collect all camping fees and pay the site managers on departure.

• As mentioned in the last newslet-ter, there are some good deals for hiring 2 or 3-bedroom caravans on site for the weekend that are very affordable if you share the costs with other members (contact site direct on 01789 292312 to book).

• The area also abounds with B&B options as well.

Pictures from 2006 Rally at Riverside Park

2-4 July 2010

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Prescott Vintage Event Sun 8th Aug 2010

We are planning to visit this iconic site on the 8th August this year when the Vintage Sports Car Club (VSCC) will be holding their Vintage weekend event.

This event is organised by the VSCC rather than Prescott. I have been in contact with the VSCC about reserving a parking area for the NGOC but they have refused saying that there would be so many clubs wanting to do the same that it would be a nightmare for them to organise.

I therefore suggest that anyone who would like to join us, so that we can park together at the site, will need to meet up near the venue to enter in con-voy.

A suitable meeting place with a large free car park is the Toddington rail-way station which is headquarters for the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway (GWR). The GWR is, fittingly, a steam-train line. The station is about 4 miles from Prescott. Prescott is situated 5 miles north east of Cheltenham off the A435 (Evesham Road) between Gotherington & Gretton. RAC sign-posted.

Unfortunately, it’s too early for the VSCC or Prescott websites to have posted any firm details on the event such as entry times and prices. I hope to be able to let you know more details via the mid-year newsletter. If not, please call prior to the weekend for latest info.

Donna & I will be camping at a nearby site on Saturday night so anyone wishing to make a weekend of it, please feel free to join us. The Camping Club site is at Winchcombe and they accept non-members for a small additional fee. The site is close to many attractive Cotswolds villages and scenery in-cluding Sudeley Castle complete with attractive gardens and a pheasantry. The castle was home to Catherine Parr, the last wife of Henry VIII. Camp site phone number is 01242 620259. Suggest booking early for August! The GWR line also runs regular steam trains to Cheltenham so that’s probably our Saturday mapped out!

To those members, including us, who haven’t been to Prescott before, I have copied some info from their website:

http://www.prescott-hillclimb.com/usefulinformation.aspx “………..Prescott Hill Climb, based just outside Cheltenham, Gloucestershire,

is home to one of the world's most prestigious motor racing venues. Set in 60 acres of glorious Cotswold countryside, the estate not only provides a beauti-ful setting for a range of classic car and bike weekends, but also hosts major motor racing championships.

17


The 1127 yard course rises over 200 feet via short straights, fast and slow corners and a breathtaking hairpin, with the fastest modern racing cars completing the course in an exciting 36 seconds.

The action can be viewed from strategic points along the course as well as from the restaurant terrace. Visitors and competitors alike can enjoy an ex-hilarating day’s racing plus vintage cavalcades up the Hill.

We can't imagine anything better than a day on the Prescott Estate, en-joying the rolling acres of green, the dappled sun in the orchard (the Great British weather is something we take on the chin!), the smell of hot motor-oil, the feel of warm tarmac and the sound of a well-tuned engine in full song.

Prescott is ideal for informal picnicking, with many excellent walks avail-able across the estate and into the surrounding countryside.

The Club was established in 1929 with the express objective of promoting motor sport and the pastime of motoring; to hold and arrange races, matches, competitions and time trials. The Club welcomes all motoring enthusiasts.

The Bugatti Owners’ Club purchased the Prescott estate in 1937 and com-menced converting the muddy, rutted drive into a speed hill climb ready for the opening rally in April 1938, when the Club President, Earl Howe, opened proceedings by driving his type 57 Bugatti up the Hill. Today Prescott is the home of the Bugatti Owners Club.

Ettore Bugatti and his son, Jean, created the world’s most successful rac-ing and competition cars before the outbreak of WW2 in 1939. They also pro-duced touring and luxury cars, railcars and aero engines as well as special pro-jects such as a baby racing car for children and an advanced record-attempting Bugatti aeroplane.

Our collections of photographs, models, drawings and many examples of Bugatti’s superb engineering, including complete cars, are on display – show-casing the elegance and logic of this creative genius.

The Trust is open to the public from 10.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday. We are also open during Hill Climb Events. Admission is Free.”

I should like to finish with a comment from the Bugatti Owners Club when

asked a question about membership. Question: “Do I have to have a replace-ment hip, black labrador and a handle-bar moustache?” Answer: “The owners of pre-war cars are far from vintage. You will find a wide range of ages in the club and will probably be very surprised to see that there are many young members and families involved”.

Good question! We look forward to seeing you at this superb venue – let’s hope the sun shines!

Paul Gray

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Members’ Letters & Articles TCV8 Progress Part 7 (June ‘08 - July ‘08)

Yes, the date in the title is correct – it seems amazing that 18 months have passed since the TC passed its MOT test and, somehow, I didn’t get round to sending this article to Chris for the newsletter!

Following-on from the last pro-gress report, we had been very close to completing the car within a month of our planned departure date for France. Looking at the outstanding ‘to-do’ list, we decided that the MOT would need to be passed a minimum of one week before depar-ture and we therefore concentrated on finishing items that would be sub-jected to the MOT test and left everything else for later.

A phone-call to our insurers up-graded the ‘off-road’ risks to fully comprehensive cover & the car was ready for the test. We had previ-ously raised the car on axle-stands and checked that all the gears & brakes seemed to work. A quick blast up the road before setting off for the test-centre gave me more confidence that everything was OK. It’s ironic that there is no legal method of shaking-down a major re-build other than the drive to a pre-booked MOT test. I know that oth-ers have arranged to trailer their car to an off-road site for tests but

neither did we have the time nor ready access to a car-trailer.

However, all went well on the drive to the MOT test centre and it was good to drive straight onto the ramps, by-passing the emissions-testing stage. Thankfully, we only need to meet the ‘visual smoke’ re-quirements and, amazingly for such a well-used engine, it was remarkably smoke-free.

For our previous NG, we had left the tester’s assistant to find out by trial-and-error which unmarked switch did what. This time, I drew a picture of the switch positions on a piece of card and identified each switch. The guy seemed to find it quite useful although he struggled to locate the windscreen washer switch that was hidden behind the dash. Moving the w/screen washer switch to behind the dash had been a last-minute change brought about by the need to use its dash-mounting position for the horn switch. It had always been planned that the horn switch in the centre of the Momo steering-wheel would be used for the horn and it was only when installing the wheel that it became apparent that there was no provision, in the after-market MGB boss, to utilise the horn-button. Af-ter a lot of head-scratching, it was obvious that even a simple wiping contact could not be bodged in the

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With a pass in our pocket, it was full-speed ahead to the nearest Post Office for a tax disc & the car was now fully road-legal. All of a sudden, the holiday was ON. There were still a whole host of items to finish, one of them being to make a tonneau cover. We had some suitable mate-rial for making a temporary cover but thought it worth a quick phone call to our local upholsterer just in case he was short of work. We took the car around that evening and the guy was non-committal, especially when I told him that he could only have the car for one day and that we were going away in 5 days’ time. Expecting a negative result, we were amazed when he phoned the next day to say that he had bought the material and postponed a couple of jobs to fit us in. He was as good as his word and did a great job, par-ticularly since there were pockets needed for the steering-wheel and both seat-backs.

time available & that the facilities of a ma-chine-shop would need to be employed to add a ring-contact to the boss. In the interim, a quick search of the ‘rules’ showed that a horn-button is only required to be ‘in reach of the driver’ and hence said press-button was temporar-ily borrowed from the w/screen washers. Interestingly, the updated SVA regs from April 2009 mandate that all switches must be appropriately marked.

The remainder of the MOT test went well, even including the head-lamps adjustment. Late on the night before the test, Donna had studied the lighting regulations and marked the inside of the garage doors with the required cut-offs etc and we adjusted the lamps to suit. To my amazement, the adjustment when checked during the subsequent MOT test was almost spot-on.

I had also been worried about the poor performance of the Sierra handbrake, especially with new un-bedded pads and discs. On discuss-ing this with the tester he said that, as long as one pulls hard enough on the handbrake lever, they are ‘in spec’. I have also found that the handbrake is more effective if the brake-pedal is pressed and held whilst the handbrake is applied.

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Although we won-dered at the time whether it was really necessary to have the tonneau for our holiday, it did turn out to be extremely useful on the many occasions when we left the car unat-tended. We fitted a full windscreen so that it will be possi-ble to fit a hood in the future. We have an idea to fit a very simple hood that will stretch between w/screen top-rail and the roll-bar hoop with no side-screens. Having driven our TF for many miles in heavy rain with the hood on but without side-screens, we know that this is a fairly effective method of keeping most of the rain off as long as you don’t mind getting wet el-bows.

A last-minute purchase was a fishing-umbrella that has such a large span that it completely covers the cockpit. We felt that, assuming a place to stop could be found, this would give good shelter if caught in heavy showers. This was a good idea in theory but, caught in a heavy shower on the way to the NG monthly meeting at Brooklands, we dived into a side-street and parked under a big tree to put on our water-proof trousers and completely for-got about the large umbrella packed in the boot!

The trip to France was unevent-ful and we motored about 800 miles during our week away. Nevertheless, we now (still) have a longish list com-prising items that have not been finished due to the rush and items that need modifying or improving. One of the most annoying develop-ments was that I over-filled the clutch master-cylinder and, due to the high under-bonnet tempera-tures, the fluid expanded and ex-cess fluid leaked onto the paintwork below the master cylinders. I didn’t notice the spillage at the time and the fluid has done a great job of peeling all the paint off in that area. Doubly annoying because we had used silicone (non paint damaging) fluid in the previous car and decided to stick with normal DOT4 for this car.

One item that we will be experi-menting with is the clutch master cylinder. The intention is to fit the MGBV8 version in place of the stan-

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dard 4-cylinder type, the aim being to reduce pedal loads. With a strong set of Rover SD1 clutch springs, the pedal effort is uncomfortably high, although bearable. Reason for not fitting the V8 cylinder initially was that the V8 version has a smaller bore to increase mechanical advan-tage but at a reduced swept volume of fluid. As the clutch was only re-leasing close to full pedal travel with the standard ‘B’ master cylinder it seemed sensible not to risk fitting the V8 version until the clutch had bedded-in slightly.

A definite area for improvement is the accelerator cable. We have fitted a universal Bowden cable be-tween MGB accelerator pedal & carbs. Even well-greased there is still an unacceptable amount of stic-tion when small throttle movements are required. At the Stoneleigh show we purchased a low-friction (PTFE-coated) ‘universal’ accelerator cable assembly that I am looking forward to fitting – let’s hope it’s as good as the demo model on the stand!

Another area of experimentation is the coil-spring rates & damper settings. Our first configuration was 250lbf/inch front & 300lbf/inch rear. We quickly came to the conclu-sion that the rear springs were too hard & changed to 250lbf/inch. The spring-rate then seemed OK at each end of the car in France but the ride on the rough UK roads sug-gested that the front was still too

hard. We therefore fitted 200lbf/inch springs on the front and the ride seems much better. We now need to find the right bit of road to see how the handling has been af-fected and also how the car behaves ‘on the limit’ in the wet. We did visit the London-to-Brighton Veteran Car Run on a day when the roads were permanently wet but took things very carefully – definitely not a day for experimenting!

With insufficient time during the build to make a decently-engineered steering-lock limiter, we had made up a temporary external limit-stop on the O/S wing-mounting bracket to limit left-hand lock (worst-case with the left-hand exhaust headers being further forward than the right-hand due to the engine’s vee-configuration). I thought we had allowed sufficient clearance but the MOT tester still managed to force the lock a bit more and we now have a scorch-mark on the N/S wing.

Next job is definitely to start on the new half-hood design. It’s not so bad if it starts raining when you’re already away from home but it seems an entirely different matter when you get the car out of the ga-rage to start a trip and it’s raining stair-rods – bit of a disincentive to going out! Perhaps we should have kept with ‘Plan A’ and not fitted any trim or carpets and drilled some drain holes in the floor!

Paul Gray

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NG at Helensburgh

Rest & be Thankful certificate

Three Lochs Classic - NG in Scotland

Your chances of seeing an NG in Scotland are not high and if you do it is more likely to be a visitor from the South on holiday rather than one of the half-dozen or so regis-tered there. However that is not to say that when we do have a chance to take them on the road we do not have a good time and that despite the widely held belief that it always rains here, there are many opportu-nities for great driving, on roads that have changed little since most of our donor cars were originally built and which still carry relatively little traffic.

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It was very easy, therefore, when given the opportunity in 2009 to take part in the Three Lochs Classic, organised by the Royal Scot-tish Automobile Club, we had no hesitation in accepting. The start, at the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club, in Rhu, near Helensburgh, is on the West coast of Scotland and 130 miles plus a ferry journey from home so it necessitates an overnight B & B stop. The event is for any car manufactured before 1976 and on arrival at the start we found our-selves in distinguished company, from a 1910 Ford model T through 12 Bentleys and Rolls-Royces, a Bris-tol, a Ferrari, a Lotus and a cluster of MGs, Fords, Austins and other classics.

The route is only 65 miles but takes in some impressive scenery, starting as it does on the Gareloch and visiting Lochs Fyne, Long and Lomond. The highlight for us was a run, not competitive, but great fun, up the old Rest & Be Thankful hill climb, last used competitively in 1967, the year our donor car left the MG factory! A live trip up the course can be seen on YouTube - 3Lochs2009, complete with an NG at the finish.

As to our own car it is a fairly early body/chassis kit, having been purchased, I see from the invoice, in 1983 for the grand sum of £1870, including VAT, but not completed until 1996, but that is another story!

Andrew Green

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New Members - Welcome We are always glad to receive new members. Please contact Bob Morrison, our membership secretary—details inside front cover. Membership is £12 per year or £10 if you set up a standing order (with re-duced rates if you join later in the year). Membership includes quarterly is-sues of ChangiNGear and some companies offer reduced kit car insurance rates. Most of all you will be joining one of the most friendly car clubs around!

New members missed from last (December) issue: MR FOKKE VAN ZEIJL (1446) (TF) DORDRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS MR PAUL BANTON (1447) (TC) FERNDOWN, DORSET MR LIAM MULLAN (1448) (TF) PORTRUSH, CO ANTRIM MR TIMOTHY TABERER (1449) (TF) DERBY, DERBS MR DOMINIC HOUSEMAN (1450) (TC) BRIDGWATER, SOMERSET New members for this (March) issue: MR ALASDAIR SCROGGIE (1451) BRIDGENORTH, SALOP MR RICK COOK (1452) ROCHFORD, ESSEX MR MARTIN MILLER (1453) BARNHAM, HANTS MR JOHN BAKER (1454) COLCHESTER, ESSEX MR KENNETH CAST (1455) HILL HEAD, HANTS MR LINCOLN SUMMERS (1456) WOKING

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For Sale

Sales & Wants Reminder: unlimited advertising is free to members but ads may be removed after 2 issues unless I am notified that you wish to re-advertise, (For non-members there is a charge of £5 for 2 issues). Ads will also appear on the NGOC Web Site unless you specifically request otherwise. Ads may be accom-panied by a single photo and may be sent to me by post or email. Ed.

Lots of MGB spares, bits and pieces, including ‘B’ series engines/gearboxes and Rover V8 engines/gearboxes. Please call to see if I have what you want. Tel: Sid 07759 691529 (E. Sussex)

NG TF 2.0 Sierra. Excellent car with low mileage but unfortunately kept outside for a long period of time. Stage 1 tuned vehicle, dual Webers, non PQ plate. Present owner ran for 1 season but due to business pressures it has stood idle a long time. When running, it is a lively and exciting vehicle that is always noticed an admired. Open to offers, buyer collects, vehicle in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Tel: Before 5pm: 01794 885790 (Nyssa) After 5pm: 01794 884663 (Shaun)

NG TF. 1986 built, colour Guards Red. Hardly used for the past 7 years but kept in dry garage and maintained during storage. Cabin refurbished some 5 years ago with new upholstery, carpets and boot space enlarged from normal. Stan-dard MGB engine refurbished with new piston rings, shell bearings, cyl-inder head fitted with hard seats for unleaded, complete new clutch and thrust bearing. Also has full tonneau, half tonneau and original tan hood, new battery, and will be MOT’d before release to a buyer. Car in full working order. £6000.

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Tel: 01252 652878 (R Clark, Original builder and one owner). Fleet, Hamp-shire.

Perfect starter kit for you to build a fantastic NG TC V8. New powder coated TC V8 Chassis with John Hoyle IFS & IRS system, Wilwood brakes, diff and steering rack. Sale also includes a brand new powder coated Rover LT77 gearbox (inc remote & gear lever) with bell hous-ing, new Holley 4 barrel 4150 carb & fuel rail. Other parts included are the propshaft, brake hose kit & chrome plated wire mesh grill. £3400. Please contact Andrew for more details. Mobile: 07801 881181

NG TF V8, Black with Minilite al-

loys. Correctly registered and tax exempt. 3.5 litre engine with Rover 5 speed box. 4 choke webber, mal-lory distributor, fully adjustable front suspension, hood and side-screens, very low mileage since build. £8500. Tel: 01234 822374 NG TD Roadster. MGB based 1800cc, red with black hood & ½ tonneau. Correctly registered, tax exempt. New radiator, Kenlowe fan, re-built brakes, new tyres, hood & side screens. Re-upholstered front seats, overdrive, new battery, MOT. Agreed valuation £6000. £5500 ono. Tel: 01843 865170 (Broadstairs, Kent)

NG TF luggage/boot rack. New and unused, made of 316L stainless steel, Tig welded, 4 pivot points se-cured by A4 s/s wing nuts give ac-cess to the spare wheel. Rubber anti-vibration, & stainless washers plus nylock nuts all supplied for rack fix-ing. £185 Tel: Eric 01634 861608 (Medway)

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Backford Bloor & Co

KIT AND REPLICA CAR INSURANCE

10% DISCOUNT FOR CLUB MEMBERS

JUST LOOK AT THESE BENEFITS

New increased discounts available for: Restricted driving

Age of vehicle Age of driver

Guaranteed agreed value

(Subject to valuation form and photos)

Free legal assistance

Free personal accident cover up to £20,000

Talk to the experts on 0151 356 8776 or log on to

www.insurance4kitcars.co.uk

With us you are a name not a number

Backford Bloor & Co is a trading style of M R Bloor & Co Ltd who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

NG Pastiche Henley. Body in bur-gundy with cream wings. Donor car was Cortina Estate, 2 litre engine with Kent cam. Wire wheels, aero screens. Needs tidying, no MOT, on SORN for 2 years, engine good, runs well. Owned for last 5 years. I paid

£2500 – hence £2500 (will haggle). Tel: Bob Wooding 01234 211782 (Office hours) Motor Magazines – “Motor Sport” 1979-1995 complete except 6/87 to 12/87. Also 5/78 to 12/78, 1/96 to 3/96, 7/96 to 12/96, 6/97 and 9/97. “Automobile” 6/86, 3/87 to 6/87, 10/87 to 12/87, 2/88, 8/88 and 1990-2008. Price £6 for com-plete years (buyer collects) or £180 for whole lot (buyer collects). Tel: 01483 225447 (Ripley, Surrey)

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Findhorn Cars Limited Hill Hampton, East Meon, Petersfield, Hampshire GU32 1QN

tel : 01730 823647 fax: 01730 823580 web: www.ngcars.co.uk e-mail: [email protected]

All NG parts supplied from chassis to brake pads

Speedometer for use in my TDV8; my current one under reads for some reason, 30mph when I am doing 50mph! Tel: Doug Hand 01883 380803 Work: 020 8315 2842 NG TF sought. I am looking for an MGB based car with 1800 engine and TC. It is important that it is correctly registered with tax exempt status and recent MOT. I would prefer very low mileage, BRG, full weather gear and overdrive. Will wait for the right car and travel to view. Details with pictures please to Chris Hulbert. E-mail: [email protected] Wanted 1800 Marina donor gearbox I have had the pleasure of owning an NG (TA) for five years and now I find myself in need of a donor gearbox. An 1800 Marina gearbox would be ideal; however, it must be in good order me-chanically with REVERSE gear intact, (as this was the failure leading to this request). I understand that these

gearboxes were a bit fragile esp. re-verse gear but I am hopeful. I am situated in Cornwall and am happy to travel reasonable distances to view. Tel: (David) 01326 280309 Fold-down windscreen for TF/TD. I have just purchased an '82 built TF, which has the standard windscreen with the lift-the-dot hood fasteners. I want to convert to fold-down screen and aeros. (As per my previous TF). Does anyone have a fold-down screen they would like to sell? Please contact Geoff Fry. Tel: 01225 811055 (Office) 01225 811099 ( Home ) Mobile: 07802757685

Wanted

Please send your NG adverts to Chris Humphreys

(contact details inside

front cover).

Remember, adverts are free to members!

Club Products & Regalia - available from Mark Staley 7 Loxley Close, Oakwood, Derby, Derbyshire DE21 2PU Tel: 01332 723927 or 07711 124153 Email: [email protected] The following items are now available (logo is contrasting silver/black)

Club Literature - available from Chris Humphreys The following 4 items of club literature are now available as PDF files to download from the NGOC website at www.ngownersclub.org.uk/articles.htm. Alternatively send £1.50 per printed copy to Chris Humphreys (cheques payable to NG Owners Club) L1: MGB/NG Electrics (Brian Baggerly 1985) L2: Car Spraying (Peter Fellows c1985-90) L3: Fitting Doors (Mel Clark 2001) L4: Fitting Enclosed Boot to TF/TD (Brian McCarthy & Chris Wilson 2001-2) Several other titles are available - e-mail Chris for further details. Printed by Nimbus Print, 82 Crown Lane, Southgate, London N14 5EN

Sweatshirt (navy, dark green) L, XL £12 + £2.50 p&p* Polo Shirt (red, black, navy, white) M, L, XL £10 + £2.00 p&p* Baseball Cap (navy) £8 + £1.50 p&p* Beanie (navy) £7 + £1.50 p&p* *p&p charge up to a maximum of £6.00 Please state size/colour, cheques payable to NG Owners Club

CHANGINGEAR

the magazine of the NG owners club

at the start

Wimpole Hall (spot Dobby in the centre)

at the finish Kathy Brown’s Winter Garden

The Snowdrop Run

The Great Escape

Ready for the “off”

CHANGINGEAR - NG Owners Club · Please send all contributions to ChangiNGear to the editor ......

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Transcript of CHANGINGEAR - NG Owners Club · Please send all contributions to ChangiNGear to the editor ......